page_title: Altriciality
section_title: Scope
hierarchical_section_title: Altriciality / Scope
caption_attribution_description: English: This is an image of a baby born to two Sub Saharan African parents. The baby has a pale appearance not that untypical of babies with full African blood.
context_page_description: In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born.
  The word is derived from the Latin root alere, meaning "to nurse, to rear, or to nourish" and indicates the need for young to be fed and taken care of for a long duration. By contrast, species whose young are immediately or quickly mobile are called precocial.
context_section_description: In bird and mammal biology, altricial species are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile, lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food on their own, and must be cared for by adults; closed eyes are common, though not ubiquitous. Altricial young are born helpless and require care for a length of time. Altricial birds include herons, hawks, woodpeckers, owls, cuckoos and most passerines. Among mammals, marsupials and most rodents are altricial. Domestic cats, dogs, and humans are some of the best-known altricial organisms.  For example, newborn domestic cats cannot see, hear, maintain their own body temperature, or gag, and require external stimulation to defecate and urinate. The giant panda is notably the largest placental mammal to have altricial, hairless young upon birth. The larvae of some insects and other invertebrates such as scorpions may be considered altricial as well. In particular, the larvae of eusocial insects such as ants, bees, and wasps are immobile and helpless grubs that are completely dependent on the workers tending to them.
  At the opposite end of the spectrum are precocial animals in which the young have open eyes, have hair or down, have large brains, and are immediately mobile and somewhat able to flee from, or defend themselves against, predators. For example, with ground-nesting birds such as ducks or turkeys, the young are ready to leave the nest in one or two days. Among mammals, most ungulates are precocial, being able to walk almost immediately after birth. Beyond the precocial are the superprecocial animals, such as the megapode birds, which hatch with full flight feathers.
caption: A human baby. Humans are among the best-known altricial organisms.
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